Trump promotes hardliner Stephen Miller as new White House chief of staff

November 7, 2026 — 6:03amNew York: President Donald Trump has named hardline homeland security adviser Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles just three days after the Republicans’ midterm election rout.Trump said Miller, currently a deputy to Wiles and “one of my most trusted advisers”, would start in the top job on Monday.White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.AP“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff,” the president wrote on Truth Social.There had been mounting speculation in recent weeks that Wiles would leave the White House and that Trump was sounding out potential replacements.Miller, a long-time Trump adviser, was a key architect of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal and irregular immigration.He is widely regarded as one of the most hardline, conservative figures in the administration, particularly on border security, immigration and American nationalism.Miller was homeland security adviser and the deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House.AP Photo/Alex BrandonThe 41-year-old is a ruthless political operative, highly active in the media, and known for his vicious, often hyperbolic attacks on Democrats and the left, which frequently involve accusations of electoral “cheating”.“The Democrats have nominate[d] a slate of candidates who are all extremists, freaks and America-hating lunatics,” he wrote on X two days before the midterm election. “The entire Democrat agenda is humiliating, subjugating and dispossessing Americans.”Miller’s style contrasts with that of the departing Wiles, a veteran political operative from Florida, who was credited with running a far more stable and united White House than in Trump’s first term.Wiles rarely spoke publicly, preferring to remain behind the scenes. She previously said she viewed her role as facilitating the president’s vision, not trying to control or influence his agenda.Susie Wiles, a veteran political operative and aide to Donald Trump, will depart the White House for a “political role”.AP“Serving President Trump in the White House has been the honour of a lifetime,” she said on Friday (US time).“I’m so proud to have been a part of what we’ve accomplished together from securing our border and cutting taxes to strengthening our economy and putting America First.Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.From our partners